DRW50

At the time of the oil spill I thought Bobby Jindal came across as showboating, and it looks like he was, even more than I'd realized. http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/01/14/spill-report-accuses-jindal-of-showboating/?hp Why does this not surprise me about Anderson Cooper (or today's media):

I figured he didn't fire Terri, since she left around late 1984, but wasn't sure if she left of her own choice. It's nice to know she did. Jay stayed around until early 1986 so I wasn't sure with him. I still wish they'd kept him around.

At first all I saw of Jay was the brooding rebel, which is a bit dull, but the more I see his goofier side the more I liked him. Were he and Terri Vandenbosch both fired? I wish Marland had kept him around. I guess he wouldn't have fit into the whole Snyder era but you never know.

Do you know if Eileen Fulton had issues with him? I remember reading her say that she threw cake in his face and left the show. I never knew if she meant Lisa did that to Whit or she did it to him. Then she returned only after Whit was dead.

Yes, most people on the show know about it, which is why Ian said she had been "fiddled with by a paedo."

I can see why Joan wanted less to do in the later years, between the publicity and her side projects and the fiasco of Peter Holm she must have been exhausted. Weird that someone would be married to both Carolyn Jones and...Candy. I'll have to look for those episodes. I was never very fond of Love Boat, but liked some of Fantasy Island, when it wasn't too silly.

Was Joan ever on any of his other shows before Dynasty? I have often wondered why they even had the first reunion. The show had kind of fizzled in its last years, in terms of public interest (I enjoyed the last year), and it hadn't been very long. I do wish they could have scenes from today in this new movie, with some of the characters. I also think it would be fun if someone paid a little money to just film a few quick scenes with Alexis, Sammy Jo, Dominique, Fallon, Adam, etc. sparring and so on. They could run on foreign TV briefly as promotion or just put together on a quick DVD release. Why do you think Dynasty translates more to foreign places than the US?

Chris Pine seems so generic to me, but then Blake was kind of generic himself, although Forsythe had a lot of charm. That was nice of Aaron to help Joan when she needed it. While one could say she basically made Dynasty a success, that doesn't mean he had to pay her back in kind, so that was gracious of him. It's too bad the show didn't do better. I'm glad to hear Joan has been taking good care of herself moneywise, although I'm sure someone would say don't worry about this wealthy woman with world contacts, she will do just fine, save your worries for others. But still, you look at how many people who were once millionaires ending up in some gutter, and you know she has done a good job steering herself on course. Did they also sign over their royalties for the reunions (the mini-series and then the one they did for John Forsythe a few years ago)?

It would be nice to see Sharon have some fun again. I think the idea would be great, as long as he wasn't playing her. The show could use that type of character again, what Simon used to be. He'd probably get along with Alfie, so that might bring some more stuff with Sharon and Kat.

I think Tiffany was very weak, which is the main reason Grant stayed with her. I liked Lorraine with Grant but eventually I wanted her to find someone better. I hated hated hated hated hated hated hated Lisa/Phil. I never really saw the best of Kathy/Phil, but I often wondered why she stuck with him. He was such a downer and her marriage to Pete had humor for many years. I think Phil sort of drained Kathy's spirit. (Was she with Phil when Pete died) My favorite Phil relationship would be Phil/Kate, as I thought they had a lot of chemistry and she managed to make me tolerate him. I can't stand Shirley/Phil. I often hear people say "the writing is ruining them." I swear I've been hearing that for 3 years! It isn't the writing, it's them. Shirley is a pathetic woman who enables Phil's worst demons.

Poor Nolan. His clothes for Dominique and Alexis really hold up well. I saw that short interview with Diahann, it's probably already been posted here, where she gives her reasons for wanting to do Dynasty - she thought the shows were ridiculous and wanted to be a part of that unreality. I love that she says "Falcon's Crest" I just wish the show had kept to her idea for the character (someone who is the same as any white male character in being ruthless and driven and not burdened by someone's idea of race or gender). I'll also post a lovely little video for Dominique, probably already seen, but it's one of those examples of fanvids putting together the best of a character. I think they had a whole Dominique: The Series. Is the last guy the one she left the show with?

What I hate most is that soaps write things that should go on for years and yet don't follow through, which makes them seem hollow. They might as well write short term story arcs. Eastenders used to have those at one time. Yeah that person used to have tons of clips of the Watts, very carefully edited, into different stories, like Den's prison stint, the buildup to Shannis making love, Den's return to Walford and his reunions with all his old friends and foes. And then of course Endersfan, who had some gems I still miss, like the one selling Eastenders abroad which had the whole cast in the Vic, speaking different languages, as Grant steps forward to talk to the camera; and then the full episodes of Kathy's rape and Lou's death, both superb pieces of TV. I still have that image of Wilmott-Brown slithering back into Walford and seeing the charred remains of the Dagmar. That story is the only time I think a rape story has ever produced any powerful drama, for me. I think I got tired of what I saw as the show glorifying the Mitchells and their worst traits, and usually letting them win. The Sharon story stands out because that's the one time someone in their life got to really stand on her own, and unlike Kathy, wasn't killed offcamera like some sort of cheap punishment. So if you had to rank the Mitchell girlfriends/wives from those you liked most to least, how would it go? I mean mostly Grant and Phil, so if you don't want to include Billy, or Jamie (but then you wouldn't be able to rank Sonia #1), that's OK.

That's a shame - I wonder if he did that on all his shows (aside from the gift to Jaclyn)? I guess she would have been better off selling him her residuals from Pacific Pallisades.

I wish I could get past the abusive way Grant treated Sharon. It's a shame that story couldn't be aired today, as the viewers would probably complain about the length of the material and they wouldn't have the talented writers to plot it. That video, was it done by the person who used to put up all the videos with the Watts family? I loved those so much. I hated it when all those were taken down, they were so wonderfully edited and a lot of stuff I'd never seen before. I still try to watch the full episodes when I can of that era but I have a certain preference for edited clips because I think this can enhance the power of a story.

Oh that's right, I forgot - I had assumed Leslie was involved with Bob on ATWT. I can't see most of those guys being interested in playing Mel. Catherine Hicks said in an interview over in the RH thread that she had auditioned for the role of GL's Holly before she was cast as Faith.

What they should do is say that Alexis gave birth to twelve children and they were all kidnapped at birth Poor Claudia. The fur isn't supposed to wear YOU. Notice in the last scene the camera stays on Jack Coleman's behind as much as possible.

This is fascinating stuff. I'd love to have seen Sharon, Catherine, and Jordan Clarke all acting together. I never knew that Catherine was in the running to play Holly on GL. I can't see that.

I really like the scene with Frannie and Jay. It's silly, sweet, romantic - the type of little moment that they don't let soap couples have now.

Great scene with Lyla and Maggie. This is Donald May as Whit's lawyer, isn't it? Wonderful scene with Lyla and Craig. This is why I hated that the show wrote Craig as a sociopath for most of his return and when they wanted him to find "redemption" it was from Lily! Why not Lyla or Betsy or...come on. I am still getting over the last episodes barely remembering that John and Margo were father and daughter.

I think Mitzeee is a classic case of a show liking a character and not caring about any storyline. Her intro story was a mess and very abruptly dropped.

Really you could get rid of about 6-7-8 more and the show wouldn't notice. Marquess' new characters were by and large a failure. I still have no idea what went on with Rob, or why this family was created in the first place.

Very well said. I've heard some say that this was "character-driven," and people are unhappy because it wasn't more of a stunt, but where was the characterization? A whodunit so lame they didn't even bother to hide it, full of actors who looked bored. It seemed like a stunt just for the sake of it. I think one of the reasons I'm so disappointed in what Emmerdale has become, this constant misery fix, because the show used to be so much more than this. It was full of very complex, human characters, and plenty of laughs as well as tears. Now it's all so generic and the show seems afraid of any type of complexity or warmth or humor. A lot more than Viv and Terry died in that fire. I also, as you mentioned, just want to ask "Why?" for many of these stories. I still have no idea what the point of anything with Jackson's paralysis is.

People who can make facial expressions I don't know. Adam or John Barton, or the Sharma brothers being more involved. The fire really just pointed out again how shallow most of the younger characters are and how they can't carry storylines.

Is it true that Kim Valentine is in the hospital again? Is she OK? She seems to have been very ill in recent years. I heard that the ratings for the new channel aren't that bad. Is that true?

I wonder if it might have been different if they had used other characters for reactions. Carl, Andy, Ryan, and Katie wouldn't react if everyone in the world was turned into a cockroach, so why were they put in the middle of a fire? The woman who plays Brenda seemed to go wildly over the top just to compensate. Apparently Deena Payne said that the show told her they weren't able to get the actors who played Donna and Scott back for her funeral (I'm not sure if they mentioned Adele Silva or not since they must have known they were bringing her back). Deena contacted the actors and they told her the show never even asked. From what I've read, even Kathy, who was let go after criticizing the show to the press, got a better exit, didn't she? I don't think they have any real story ideas beyond showing people depressed and struggling. The problem is this just sort of numbs everything. Something like Jackson being upset he couldn't help -- this would have worked if we hadn't already seen Jackson, Hazel, and Aaron wallowing in angst so many times. The only bright side of all of this is that is proves deaths don't equal great soap drama. I can understand why people disliked the Vic fire but I never understood the idea there, or with Lucas' reveal, that everything would have been more exciting if someone had been killed. Viv/Terry, along with the empty deaths of Steph/Malachy on Hollyoaks and Ashley and Molly on Corrie, show just how little impact soap deaths can have IMO. It's all forgotten in a week or less, on one show after another.